Whether documenting trash, cataloguing obscure images or videotaping paranoid worlds the artists in this exhibition are all trying to bring order to something that is intriguing and out of their control.

Sean Paul Gallegos starts with abandoned sneakers preferably Nike’s. Taking these discarded items that were at one time highly coveted and very expensive articles of clothing, he refashions them into mask-like armor. He feels these pieces reflect his Native American ancestry from New Mexico – something that is sacred to him. It is an odd juxtaposition that while he is setting out to create religious inspired objects, he uses materials from his neighborhood surroundings, i.e. Nike’s to create these pieces that look like protective gear or imaginary amour. The “sacred” includes protection against the unknown or perhaps his surroundings. The religious importance of these pieces that are constructed out of material associated with basketball stars, fashion and street culture creates offbeat hermetic sculptures.

Richard Moszka continues this thread of using discarded materials by chronicling the deterioration of food. In his piece “Tortilla 5,” he sets a rotting tortilla against a black background. By simply isolating and enlarging the tortilla it becomes something else. The mold becomes the surface of a beautiful planet or strange moonscape. He shows us the beauty of the decay.

By lifting images from the Internet Chris Bors’ catalogues subversive groups such as WWF superstars and marijuana culture. His strict adherence to the rules of the arrangement, which is not tampering with the size constraints or borders of the jpeg that he uses, dictates the visual outcome. By arranging these images in a systematic yet detached manner, he renders the often aggressive or illegal subject matter harmless yet at the same time the impractical and seemingly illogical rules that go into creating his collages add to the esoteric quality to his work.

Carol Saft documents her Brother Todd’s fantasy world of guns and heroism. Internalizing the myths of past heroes as an integral part of being a “man,” Todd leads a life of collecting guns and role-playing ultimately to protect himself and his family from the “danger” that is always lurking. Her videos cast a very personal eye on Todd’s preternatural behaviors. The strong relationship that is between the artist, and her subject softens the disturbing characteristics that are revealed in the piece.

Irene Hanenbergh searches to visualize the enchanted world that is in her subconscious. Her work is a combination of phantasmal analogies and fragile lines that describe obsessive, mechanical and emotional characteristics arrived at through a spontaneous process of drawing.

There is an offbeat quality in the work for this exhibition. The influences that feed the artists work comes from discarded trash, subversive material, odd behaviors or phantasmal worlds. By visualizing that which is scary, distasteful, unpalatable, strange or unknown the artists in Show #2 can perhaps if not control the emotions associated with their imagery at least gain an understanding as to what they are feeling.